Crossing Heartbeats
by socrchick.xo
Summary: Demi & the Jonas trio are surprised when their benefit concert doesn't quite go according to plan. Who knows what may happen because of it? Jemi & slight Niley; Long oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. **

"Demi, come _on_!" Joe whines as his lips push into a playful pout. His long, muscular arms extend out towards his girlfriend, who is currently curling up on the couch in her dressing room with a lime green cell phone pressing against her ear. She finally looks up at him, telling the person on the other end of the line to hold on for a moment.

"Joe, don't make come over there and drag you out of this room myself." Demi threatens him playfully, happy that her boyfriend is here to see her but at the same time, intent on having a conversation with her best friend on the phone.

"Oh, I'm so scared." He mocks, dropping his arms to his sides in defeat.

"If you keep up with that attitude, then I hope you enjoy eating dinner alone tonight." Demi smiles at Joe's reaction, which includes overdramatic batting of his eyelashes and the display of his adorable puppy dog face.

"But I love you."

"I know," Demi laughs, while Joe continues to rapidly bat his eyelashes at her. From the other end of the line, Demi hears her best friend laughing at their silly exchange. She tries a different tactic, using her own wide, brown eyes to persuade her boyfriend, "Joe, can you please let me talk to her in peace, baby?"

"Fine," Joe finally gives up with a long, deep sigh and slowly leaves the dressing room with his eyes glued at the floor. Demi shakes her head at her slowly disappearing boyfriend, knowing that he's only kidding around with her and appreciating his desire to be with her. Demi then pulls the receiver back up to her ear,

"Sorry about that, Nighthawk."

"No problem Dragon, but I should probably let you go anyways. Good luck tonight! I wish I could be there." Miley says seriously. The last stop on Demi's summer tour is a small town in Canada, but she has this week off so her decision was to come home and relax. When her label got wind of this, they set up a benefit concert between Demi and the Jonas Brothers. The four teens are set to perform fifteen songs total from both of their many albums, with a special appearance sometime during to the show to spice things up.

"I do, too. Apparently they chose Selena as our special guest tonight." Demi sniffs nervously, picking at a loose piece of string hanging off of the reclining sofa. Selena and Demi had a misunderstanding over something extremely unimportant compared to their ten year friendship, but the matter had been blown way out of proportion. They haven't talked for months, and Demi was sure that their friendship had failed the ultimate test of Holly_weird._

"Uh oh. Awkward." Miley agrees.

"Tell me about it."

"Well I'll be watching from my couch. All by myself. With nobody else…"

"Hey, I offered to stay and take care of you. Let's not forget who pushed who out her front door. Violently, might I add." Demi jokes, remembering how earlier today she had shown up outside Miley's door with a can of chicken noodle soup and some movies. As soon as Demi had casually mentioned she was to be at this concert in a few hours time, Miley had cleaned up the mess they had made during the afternoon and they said goodbye.

"I am so not violent, Dem. But maybe this cold will pass quickly and we can go out for lunch or something. Bob's Burgers is calling my name."

"I'll hold you to that, Miss Miley. This time, I dibs paying."

"Demetria."

"Yes Destiny?"

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

"You did not just go there."

"Oh, I went there. In fact, I went there, sent you a postcard and came back!"

The two girls burst into giggles at Miley's ridiculous comeback. A knock on Demi's dressing room door causes the raven-haired girl to look up to see Frankie standing there sheepishly. His blue gameboy is hanging from his left hand loosely while his other hand holds the doorknob. In an annoyed voice, Frankie says,

"Demi, you guys are on soon. Joe made me come all the way over here to come get you."

"Thanks, Frank. I'll be right there." Demi giggles, watching as the young boy stomps away from the room. Speaking into the phone again, Demi sighs, "I'll call you after I get off to tell you how it went."

"Okay, have fun! Love you, girl."

"Oh, so now you admit it." She jokes, causing Miley to chuckle on the other end of the line.

"Shut up and go sing your pretty little heart out, Dragon."

"Easy on the compliments. We wouldn't want this gorgeous, amazing, superior girl to get an ego, now would we?"

"Right, sorry. Talk to you after the show." Miley replies, her words echoing the sarcasm Demi's words had held. Realizing that she should be with Joe and his brothers so the show can start, Demi finally takes initiative in ending the conversation between the two best friends,

"Love you, Miles."

After hanging up, Demi drops her cell phone onto the coffee table sitting beside the couch she's occupying. She then stands up and stretches her arms way over her head, before glancing in the mirror opposite the couch to study her reflection one last time before she goes onstage. She straightens out her bright yellow shirt, adjusting the white vest she had pulled on over it at the last moment. She likes the way her ripped, black skinny jeans seem to make the colours of her shirt effectively 'pop', while the black high-heeled boots covering her feet are uncharacteristically comfortable.

Smiling at her reflection, Demi leaves her dressing room and proceeds to navigate her way around the area until she finally spots Joe. He's having a conversation with Kevin, so instead of talking to him like she had intended to do, Demi gets ready for her performance. She waits patiently as a sound pack gets hooked up to the waistband of her skinny jeans, but the pre-concert excitement is starting to bubble up inside her, which it makes it hard for her to stand still.

Joe walks over to Demi as she finishes up, pulling her into his arms immediately,

"Finally I get you to myself."

Demi giggles, leaning up and pressing her lips softly against his. He kisses her back eagerly as her fingers twist into his brown curls. Demi is the happiest she's ever been at this moment in her boyfriend's arms, knowing she has a loving family, a best friend who is beautiful inside and out and to top it off, an incredibly supportive boyfriend to be there for her anytime.

"Get a room, you two. Siblings in the area." Demi blushes a deep shade of pink at Nick's words, pulling away from Joe in embarrassment. Joe just rolls his eyes playfully, pulling his girl back into the circle of his arms as she pushes her flushed face into his chest, fascinated at the way his chest rumbles as he lets out a deep chuckle.

Gradually everyone forms a loose circle, holding hands with the person next to them. Demi is sandwiched between Joe and Nick and as usual, she's practically hopping on the spot in anticipation for the concert. Joe squeezes her hand suddenly and Demi swears she feels her heart flutters. Then Mr Jonas begins to say the prayer they do routinely before every show, and everyone is silent.

After they finish the prayer and everyone choruses 'Amen!', Demi gets separated from the boys again. Her vocal coach is suddenly beside her, babbling into her ear in a steady rhythm of words but Demi honestly can't pay attention. She's really trying, but all her nerves are bursting with energy.

And then finally, Demi finds herself squished into a small square platform underneath the stage with a microphone pressed into her palm. She can hear her favourite boys starting the intro to one of her songs and the music seems to seep into her skin. She can feel the rhythm, and is willing to do almost anything to get the lift to rise faster. Finally, Demi can hear the roar of the crowd as her head rises above the stage floor and instantly she's singing her heart out.

**.xo.**

"How're you feeling, L.A.?" Kevin breathes into his microphone, breathing heavy after playing almost a dozen songs without pause. His eyes rake over the crowd, absorbing the energy from the fans in the sold-out concert arena.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Joe asks suddenly, his face a mask of fake confusion as he glances at his brothers. Demi wants to laugh, but instead looks backstage as if she was checking for something, or rather some_one_. She gasps, pulling the microphone to her lips as she fakes excitement,

"Apparently, we have a special guest backstage! Would you like us to bring them out?"

Instantly, the crowd goes insane. Demi wonders if she'll ever hear again as the chorus of _'Bring them out!'_ grows increasingly loud. She hears Kevin fake a laugh into his microphone and all she can do is try to keep a wide smile on her face and act normal. Demi has to pretend that she and this 'special guest' were not the last remains of a lost friendship.

A beat starts up, courtesy of Nick who is already sitting behind the massive drum set since he is playing the large instrument during all of Demi's songs. Kevin starts up on the guitar and Demi is quick to do the same. Demi had taught the boys the chords to this song last night, since forever ago she and Selena were close enough for her to teach the chords to Demi herself. They had learned three different songs to play throughout the course of the night, which didn't take very long seeing as they were all talented, professional artists.

"Put your hands together for Miss Selena –!" And Joe's voice immediately gets cut off. The roar of the crowd is so loud at this moment that even Demi can't hear Joe's welcoming speech for Selena. Not that it matters, because Selena is already darting out from behind the thick curtain and making her way down the catwalk excitedly. She waves enthusiastically to the crowd, while the microphone in her hand lifts up to her mouth,

"How are we doing out here?" The crowd goes crazy with cheers, screams and clapping. Selena's smile locks in place as she beings singing, her voice floating over the entire stadium. Demi notices that Selena tries to push herself to be better, always thinking that playing a different chord or nailing that high note will somehow make her keep that image of perfection she has been trying to maintain. When the song comes to a close quicker than Demi thought it would, she finds Selena walking back towards the stage where she stands,

"I'm going to sing one more song from my new album for you guys. This one's called _Stop and Erase!_"

A new beat starts up, and Selena is singing again, this time performing near Demi and the brothers instead of dancing at the end of the catwalk.

'_You think you know me so well, you put me down and build you up. You're kicking me around. You just can't get enough.' _Selena sings as she pretends to be having a fun time onstage with her best friend. But in reality, her eyes are like ice as she sings her lyrics to Demi, who smiling falsely as she stares at the shell of her old best friend. Demi can't even recognise the girl inside her anymore, it's only the outside that remains the same. She's completely changed her thoughts, opinions, morals… everything.

Then Selena spins around and bounces over to Joe, pretending to jam out on the air guitar while Joe rocks out with his electric one. Demi is glad that he's passionate about acting; otherwise she would be worried that he will blow their cover. But Joe is acting playful and happy as Selena dances around him, the anxious look he discreetly throws at Demi being the only noticeable sign he is as uncomfortable as she is.

"Thank you, Los Angeles!" Selena yells and takes a playful bow. She hugs everybody on the stage as she makes her way off the large stage, her arms lingering around Nick slightly longer than anybody else. In fact, her arms barely make their way around Demi before she retrieves them again, smiling and waving at the fans in the audience as she retreats backstage.

Another song starts up, this one from the Jonas Brothers' newest album. Demi takes a seat at the grand white piano on the far corner of the stage while Joe starts singing. Demi can't help but smile as both Joe and Nick reach out and touch all the hands sprouting from the crowd, causing more shrieks to erupt from the girls as the entire first few rows push forward to touch the boys' hands.

After a few more songs, Demi, Joe, Nick and Kevin are more than ready to play their last song for the night and hightail it backstage. But while Nick starts playing the drums, Demi grasps her microphone tightly and Joe attacks his guitar, Kevin is nowhere to be found. The trio onstage keep playing their respective instruments, thinking Kevin will pop out from a hiding place soon enough and the song can actually start.

Finally, Kevin runs out from behind the thick stage curtain, ignoring the confused looks coming from his brothers and Demi. Instead, he runs up to the microphone Nick had been using and gasps,

"Let's welcome Selena to the stage one more time!"

Demi's eyes widen in surprise, while Joe stops playing his instrument completely. Kevin looks over at his fellow performers and mouths, _'U Got Nothin' On Me'._ Understanding that they should be starting up the chords to that song, Nick immediately leads the music introduction. Joe strums the correct chords on his guitar, masking his confusion with a blinding smile as his girlfriend does the same.

Selena starts singing from someplace backstage, her voice carrying over the crowd. She continues to sing, hidden by the thick curtain until she finishes the first verse, and suddenly the curtain behind the stage is falling. It flutters down, looking way thinner than Demi remembered when she had been running around backstage before. She realizes that it was not the huge curtain surrounding the stage, but just a banner with '_The Jonas Brothers featuring Demi Lovato!'_ plastered across it in huge letters.

The crowd suddenly seems insanely loud. Demi immediately notices that the audience is doing more screaming, jumping, and pointing than they had all night. She's confused but shrugs it off, thinking that they were heating up because they had been surprised by the curtain that had fallen.

And that's when she hears the voice change.

'_Now I know who you are, you got nothin' on me! I see I should have known it from the start._' Demi spins around, her jaw literally dropping when she spots a girl on a platform that's getting lowered down from the ceiling. The platform rests on top of the stage where the curtain had been hiding, while the girl pulls the microphone she's holding away from her mouth to reveal a wide smile.

It's Miley.

Instantly, Demi looks over at Joe to see if he had planned this. But his eyes are wide as he stares up at the singing rockstar, the guitar in his hand only being played out of pure reflex. Kevin is grinning as he watches the brunette dance to the rhythm of the music, obviously in on the secret of her performance.

But Nick's reaction is the most surprising. He keeps playing the drums, banging so hard with each drop of his wrist that Demi thinks it should be a safety hazard. He barely glances up at the girl as she prances off the lift and onto the top of the stage, still singing her heart out.

As she makes her way down the stairs towards all the other performers and finishes singing the chorus, Miley suddenly stops singing. Demi is surprised as two thin arms wrap around her from behind in a huge hug and with a startled laugh, she returns Miley's embrace.

"Miley Cyrus, everybody!" Joe comes up behind Demi and takes her microphone, motioning to the girl hugging his girlfriend as he speaks. Demi's head is thrown back in laughter as she pulls away from the hug, her best friend waving excitedly to the deafening audience.

Miley releases Demi completely, prancing to the end of the stage to being singing the second verse. The popstar's white v-neck is clinging to her curves attractively, while her denim shorts keep her look casual as she dances around happily. She sings enthusiastically to the girls in the front row, giggling quietly at the screams erupting from the audience. Demi is smiling harder then she had all night, joining Miley in singing the chorus when it rolls around.

As the song comes to a close, both girls are smiling widely. Demi glances over her shoulder happily to peek at her boyfriend, giggling softly when he winks at her. She turns back around, skipping over to her best friend, swinging one arm over her shoulders and whispering into her ear,

"You surprised me."

"That's a first." Miley whispered back jokingly, before pulling her microphone up to her lips, "Hey L.A! How are we doing on this fine, Friday evening?"

Demi thought she had heard the audience cheer their loudest, but was quickly proven wrong. When Miley spoke, a whole new octave rose from the fans in the stadium, proving once more just how important she was to the Disney empire.

"That's awesome. Well, how many of you guys are ready to party with Miley? Because I certainly am." Joe cut in, laughing airily. Miley nodded furiously, encouraging the audience to do the same. Miley then smiles at her best friend, finally feeling genuinely happy for the first time in ages.

**.xo.**

"Thank you, LA! I love you guys!" Miley shouts, preparing to head backstage so that the teens onstage can finish their last couple songs for the night. Demi glances at her best friend's retreating figure, sad that she has to leave the stage so soon. As Miley back at her, Demi pushes her lips into a pout and mouths jokingly,

'_One more song? 7 Things?'_ Her words earn a loud, solid laugh from Miley, but the teen pop sensation shakes her head anyways, turning to the audience once more,

"Thank you guys! It was a pleasure singing with you, Demi, Joe, Kevin, Nick. Goodnight!" With a simple hug to every member onstage, including Nick who seems uncomfortably tense, Miley retreats backstage. Demi and Joe glance at each other and sigh, before reclaiming their positions onstage.

"Well, how'd you like that surprise?" Demi wonders as she reaches her microphone, her face lit up in a wide smile. The audience responds by an extremely loud round of shouting, screaming and whistling. Without thinking, Demi laughs at her mutual feelings with the audience, "Me too."

**.xo.**

"You didn't even warn me." Nick spits angrily as he catches up to Demi and his brother backstage, grabbing Demi's arm to stop her from walking away from him. He can't believe Demi has the nerve to have his ex-girlfriend perform with them onstage in front of thousands of people and not let him prepare for it beforehand. His fury towards her is evident as Demi turns around in surprise,

"Calm down, I had no idea she was coming. Ouch, Nick, let go." Demi says instantly, trying to twist her arm out of his tight grip. Nick shakes his head angrily, her words not registering in his mind as he continues,

"You honestly expect me to believe that? If I'd known she was coming I would have –"

"Nicholas, drop her arm." Joe cuts his brother off, stepping up beside Demi with a hard glare. Finally realizing what he was doing wrong, Nick instantly drops his arm back down to his side. Joe instantly wraps an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, gently rubbing the area Nick's hand had been gripping. But Demi is still angry and intrigued by their conversation, refusing to be distracted as she exclaims,

"You would have what, Nick? Worn your old jeans so they can get dirty when you're on your knees, begging for her forgiveness?"

"That was harsh, Demetria." Nick says in his coldest tone of voice.

"That was nothing. Don't even begin to think you can go near my best friend." Demi warns him seriously, glaring at him angrily. Nick barks out a sarcastic laugh,

"You can't control me. She was my best friend first."

"Does it matter, Nick? Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't make a difference."

"Yeah, it does. I know her better than you ever will." Nick says smugly. Demi rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to dish out another comeback at him but is quickly interrupted,

"Shut up, both of you! You're both arguing over nothing. Nick, go talk to her if you want to so badly. And you, Dem," Joe winks, "Get to come with me."

"I'm getting the details from her later. Don't make her cry or I'll rearrange your face." Demi decides to let Miley deal with Nick herself, instead of fighting her best friend's battle. Nick smiles in victory, knowing that Demi could never hurt a fly, no matter how strong and confident she may come across as. So instead of regarding her seriously, he chuckles at her threat,

"Empty words, Demi."

"If this girl doesn't knock some sense into you, I will. Be mature." Joe advises his younger brother.

"Look at this – you've got Joe being serious." Demi jokes , instantly diffusing the tension. This was a big reason Nick and Demi usually get along so well – Demi can probably turn a gang into a group of peacemakers. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. But she certainly knows how to eliminate any bad energy in a room and instantly make everyone smile. As if to prove this point, Joe breaks out into a grin,

"Hey, I'm offended!"

"I guess I'll just have to make it up to you." Demi turns to Joe and bites her lip, causing Nick to roll his eyes,

"Ew, I'm out of here."

Joe and Demi's laughter follow Nick down the hallway as he searches for Miley's dressing room. He comes across an unmarked door and stops, thinking this should be either Miley or Selena's dressing room since they are both surprise guests. He then notices the door is slightly ajar, so instead of backing away like a small part of his mind is screaming at him to do, Nick takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.

"Come in!" A voice calls from within the room, and Nick instantly knows he's knocking on the right door. Taking another deep breath, he pushes the door open to reveal a small room with bright yellow walls. The first thing Nick spots is Miley, just like he always does when he walks into a room. She's sitting on the black couch in the middle of the room and her fingers are speeding over a small phone keypad. Her oversized bag is sitting next to her on the carpeted floor and mounted to the wall above her is a small television screen which is playing the footage from the concert again. There is only one rack of clothes and a small vanity table standing in the room.

"Hey…" Nick manages, his gaze finding her figure again. She's changed out of the outfit she wore onstage and is now wearing a simple black tank top, a pair of deep purple sweats and gladiator sandals. At the sound of her ex-boyfriend's voice, Miley instantly looks up at the doorway where he's standing.

"Hey Nicky. Are you lost?" Miley chirps happily, throwing a smile in Nick's direction as she crosses one of her legs over the other. Nick smiles internally, knowing that her greeting could have gone in a completely different direction but happy it didn't. Watching Miley's smile fade slowly, Nick realizes he should be answering her question and his mind blanks,

"No, uh, actually I, um.."

"Have you been to Pinkberry lately?" She wonders, cutting off his pointless mumbling. Nick stares at the girl in front of him intensely, his ears as disbelieving as they had been earlier that night when he had first heard her onstage. She wants to know if he's been to _Pinkberry _lately? As in, their special place? They used to stop there all the time when they toured together forever ago.

"No? I mean, yes. I took Frankie a few weeks ago. Wait, so technically that's no, since it was so long ago–" Nick stutters, his face turning a faint pink as Miley giggles,

"We should go."

"Now?" Nick wonders in disbelief. He can't help but be completely confused about what's going on inside Miley's head as she suggests the idea.

"No, I mean later, when pigs fly and one of us gets to walk on Pluto." Miley responds sarcastically, not missing a beat. Nick rolls his eyes playfully,

"The sarcasm is not appreciated."

"I know. So are you in, Nicky?" Miley asks, her grin widening considerably when Nick gives in and nods. She pauses, "I have to tell Demi first, though."

"Okay."

Miley stands up and grabs her purse off the floor, thanking Nick on the way out of the room as he holds the door open for her. Nick follows the brunette out into the hallway, enjoying the view he gets from walking behind her.

Hey, he _is_ a guy.

Miley reaches Demi's dressing room and pulls open the door without knocking, which makes Nick sigh in relief when the couple inside aren't in the middle of anything suggestive. Demi smiles at her best friend as she enters the room, instantly skipping over and engulfing her in a hug. Miley giggles,

"Hey Dragon, we're heading out."

"Oh, okay. Call me when you get home, Nighthawk."

"You got it." Miley giggles again, waving at Joe who is standing off to the side as he waits for Demi to return. Demi shoots a curious look at Nick as he waits patiently for Miley, a smile growing on her face as she winks at him. Miley then turns back to Nick, waving her hand in the direction of the door, "Let's go."

**.xo.**

"You drove here yourself?" Nick wonders as he slides into the passenger's seat of Miley's black BMW. He makes a mental note to not stutter in front of the beauty beside him again, taking calming breaths as the expensive car roars to life.

"Yeah. It wouldn't have been much of a secret if I'd hitched a ride in the limo with you guys. Anyways, Selena was suppost to be the only guest star tonight." Miley explains in a tone that suggests the idea should have been painstakingly obvious. Nick nods slowly, watching Miley pull out of the parking spot located in a closed-off section in the parking lot.

"So why _did_ you come?" He blurts finally, revealing the question that had been nagging him for quite some time.

"For Demi." Miley answers simply.

"Demi?"

"Yeah, my best friend? Raven coloured hair, just a bit shorter than me? Answers to Dragon?"

"Ha, you're so funny." Nick says sarcastically, watching Miley's answering smirk creep onto her flawless face. Her typical answer comes out of her mouth next,

"I know."

"So, did Demi ask you to come?" Nick wonders, seeing if her answers match up with Demi's.

"No! It was a complete surprise. I even faked being sick earlier so nobody would find out. Remember that time I showed up in Dallas and we sang together?" Miley asks, glancing over at Nick while she navigates through traffic. Her face is supporting a small smile, but her eyes are swimming with nerves. She's remembering that night as clearly as Nick is at that moment.

"Of course I do." Nick shakes his head at the ridiculousness of her question. There's no way he could forget that night.

"Well, it was like that. A little surprise for a good friend because I'm awesome like that." Miley sends another large smile in Nick's direction and suddenly Nick finds himself aching for the old days – the days where he could have said '_You have such a beautiful smile, babe' _and she would blush and tell him to cut it out, the days where he would reach for her hand just to give it a small squeeze to let her know he's thinking about her and to see that same smile light her gorgeous face.

"Wow, it's raining like crazy out here. When did this start?" Miley's voice breaks through Nick's thoughts. He glances out the window and takes in the pounding rain on the windshield, the crackling of thunder in the distance and the flashes of lightening illuminating the sky.

"I guess a storm started while we were onstage." Nick finally concludes. He waits, but the only response he gets from Miley is a simple and curious,

"Hmm."

**.xo.**

"So, you and Nicole, huh?" Miley asks with a raised eyebrow, pulling a spoonful of vanilla ice cream into her mouth. Currently the two teenagers are sitting inside Pinkberry, each of them on either side of a square table with a small cup of ice cream on the table in front of each of them.

"What about her?" Nick wonders, stabbing his ice cream with a plastic white spoon. He knows Miley never has been one to feed around the bush or sugar coat anything, but her direct questions always shoot out when he least expects it. This is not the first time today she's caught Nick off guard.

"You're dating, right? I heard it from a very reliable source, so don't give me that look." Miley points her spoon at him, dismissing his skeptic look. Nick shakes his head, chuckling,

"Your reliable source isn't so reliable. We are not dating, trust me."

"Okay." Miley shrugs, another scoopful of ice cream dropping into her mouth. Nick is left blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of his ex-girlfriend and once best friend. He'd meant his words as a figure of speech, not literally. Did she actually still trust him after all this time? Squashing the flicker of hope that appears in his mind, Nick speaks hastily,

"While on the topic of boyfriends, congratulations on your relationship with Liam."

"Uh, right. Thanks, Nicky." Miley's eyes fall from Nick's gaze, instantly fanning the flames of his curiosity.

"Trouble in paradise?" Nick asks, trying and failing to sound only politely interested. The truth is, he's genuinely concerned for her and he's tired of not being able to show it.

"I'm so not talking about my relationships with you." Miley chuckles falsely, "No offence."

"Why not? Once upon a time, I believe we were best friends." Nick reminds her, trying his best not to feel insulted that she doesn't trust this information with him. Didn't she just say a few moments before that she trusted him? This girl is confusing him so much he feels like tugging out his own curly brown hair.

"Well, that was then and this is now." Miley states, playing with a red sprinkle that has fallen off her ice cream and is laying on the table. Nick quickly puts his hands up in defence,

"Okay, I'll respect your space. But I'm here if you need me."

"I think I just had a déjà vu moment. For some reason, I think I've heard that somewhere before." Miley shoots back at the curly haired cutie, her eyes rolling in annoyance.

"Miley, can we talk about what happened instead of you just jumping to conclusions?" Nick pleads desperately, already seeing her walls building up around her once again. He realizes that he's lucky he was able to chat this much with her, and now he's unintentionally ruining his chances of continuing the light conversation. But he desperately wants to fix things, to repair the damage that's been done so that one day he can call Miley a _friend _again_._ He's willing to keep that level of relationship with her if that's what makes her happy but if she wants him to be more than that, then he'll gladly be that man too.

"Okay, let's talk about how the one time I want to broaden my horizons and star in a movie that's not under the Disney label, you don't support me." Miley starts sourly, pursing her lips and leaning back in the metal chair. Nick shakes his head at her assumption, knowing very well that they had had this argument too many times already.

"It wasn't that I didn't support you, because I did." Nick clarifies sternly, peering straight into Miley's eyes to demand her full attention, "And I still do. What I said was that I thought we should take a break over the summer and see what happens when you get home."

"Yeah, and you flipped when you came down to visit me in Tybee and I was hanging around Liam. Admit it, you were so jealous." Miley snorts, while Nick shakes his head again. But Miley remembers that day as if it were yesterday, the hot air floating around her while the humidity puffed up her brown locks. Nick only stayed for one day before hightailing it off the movie set and back home, even though Miley begged him to stay longer.

"I was just confused. But I swear I'm never going to hurt you again." Nick promises seriously, leaning towards Miley over the wooden table. Miley laughs sarcastically,

"Do I sense another déjà vu moment coming on? I think I do."

"Miley, seriously. I'm not with Nicole. I've called you dozens of times since we last spoke, and you never called me back…" Nick trails off, watching Miley's face contort into a sneer,

"Yeah, and you always ask Demi how I've been. You practically stalk OceanUp to see if I've gone anywhere. But you never actually come to talk to me, face to face."

"Well excuse me for actually trying." Nick scoffs, running a nervous hand through his brown curls. This isn't how he expected his evening to go. He really doesn't want to argue with the beautiful girl in front of him, instead wishing he had never risked walking into her dressing room in the first place. However, he's pleasantly surprised at her next furious outburst,

"You don't think I miss you? You don't think that some days, I wish I could call you and rant about how every little thing I see or hear or feel reminds me of you?"

"Miley, I –"

"I miss you, Nick. A lot." Miley finally confesses, her eyes sliding from Nick's surprised ones to her empty ice cream cup on the table in front of her. It's her turn to be surprised however when Nick leans over and intertwines their fingers on the tabletop, saying,

"I miss you too, Miles."

"Then we need to get over this. I really want you and your family back in my life." Miley decides, giving his fingers a slight squeeze. Nick's answering smile is huge, but slowly fades as he thinks of one problem,

"You think Liam will like that?"

"Uh, want the honest truth?" Miley hedges, trying to pull her fingers back. Nick keeps a firm hold on her hand,

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Okay," Miley takes a long, deep breath, exploding into her explanation quickly, "Liam and I are done. It's confusing, even to me, but I think that being on set with him was surreal and it was my first big movie and everything was so incredible… But now I feel like since I'm back home, I just don't see him the way I did, you know? Like I thought he understood me better than anyone but maybe that's what I was making myself believe…"

"I understand. That doesn't make you a bad person, Miles." Nick comforts Miley quickly, seeing the guilt flicker across her features. However, she doesn't look convinced of that fact as her eyes dance away from Nick's, mumbling softly,

"I guess…"

"Seriously, Mi." Nick tries again, "You deserve the world. No, you deserve the world, the stars, the sun and the moon. Because you're incredible and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Did I ever mention that you're extremely cheesy?" Miley giggles softly, a soft pink illuminating her cheeks. Nick grins; happy they are back to their usual playful banter,

"Once or twice. It's a part of my charm."

"Oh, is it now? I wasn't aware."

"Blow to the self-esteem there, Miss Miley."

"Oh, you'll get over it."

**.xo.**

"Hey, I have a question to ask you." Nick says suddenly, glancing up at Miley as she finishes rummaging through her large purse for a tube of lip gloss. Her eyes widen in fake surprise as she holds both her hands up beside her head, palms facing forward,

"I swear it wasn't me! I've been framed!"

"Hilarious." Nick rolls his eyes as Miley smirks, but he continues anyways, "Did you go with Demi to my concert when I toured with The Administration?"

"You're still wondering about that? It was so long ago." Miley laughs, dropping her hands onto the table and giving Nick a curious look.

"Yes, I'm still wondering." Nick confirms seriously, watching as the beauty in front of him glides the shiny liquid tube over her lips before mashing her lips together to smooth the gloss out.

"For your information, yes I went. I was supporting an old friend." Miley grins after she finishes, enjoying the way Nick's face lights up at the simple fact.

"But you didn't come to say hello after the show?"

"It was your night, Nick. You looked so happy… I couldn't take that away from you." Miley says softly. Nick shakes his head, refusing to believe that Miley could really think he could be genuinely happy without her.

"I would have been happier if you'd come and talked to me. I missed you." Nick shoots back honestly.

"I bet." Comes Miley's simple response, and instantly Nick notices the difference in her tone. Immediately defensive, Nick asks,

"What's wrong, Miles?"

"This doesn't seem weird to you? This morning when I woke up, I never thought this would be how my day turned out." The beautiful brunette in front of the curly haired boy lets out a loud, sarcastic laugh.

"Me either, I can promise you that. I didn't think you'd sit down and talk to me. I thought we'd argue." Nick admits after a moment of thought, watching Miley's teeth sink into her bottom lip nervously as she runs a hand through her recently highlighted hair.

"I'm done with the silly arguments. They tore us apart."

"I know, I'm sorry." Nick quickly backpedals, not wanting to bring back memories of their past failed relationship. But surprisingly, Miley just waves her hand dismissively at Nick's apology and rolls her shoulders back easily,

"It's in the past. No time for regrets now."

"So, in plain words, we're friends?"

"Yes, friends."

**.xo.**

"So, maybe we could hang out sometime this week? Before you guys head off to Texas again." Miley asks hesitantly, pulling her purse higher onto her shoulder as they stand up and get ready to leave. Nick looks over at the beautiful girl beside him, his mouth stretching into a smile as he accepts her offer,

"Sounds like a plan."

Miley smiles too, pushing open the glass door at the front of the shop, stepping out onto the wet pavement. Nick watches as the girl in front of him closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sky, letting the soft wind whip her hair around her face. Nick also looks up at the dark sky, happy the rain has stopped coming down so heavily and is instead drizzling lightly over the two teenagers.

"Hey, it looks like the rain's finally letting up."

"Well, would you look at that," Miley smiles at the boy beside her, "The storm is finally clearing."

* * *

**Hi. It's Charlotte. I don't remember the last time I updated. D'aw.  
Anywhoo.. I don't have anything else to say..  
BUT! DO YOOUUUU.. have a twitter? Stalk me? ;)**

**Charlotte; twitter . com / TeamxLovato**

**:DDDD**


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